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THE 

PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  A  SALE 


GIFT  OF 


THE 

PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  A  SALE 


Practical  Application  of  Psychological 

Principles  to  tne  Processes  of 

Selling  Life  Insurance 


By  FORBES  LINDSAY 

Associate  Manager  of  the  Home  Office  Agency 

PACIFIC  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE   COMPANY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


FORM  890 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

?he 

PACIFIC  MUTUAL  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

1914 


336758 


The  Psychology  of  a 
Sale 


BY  WAY  OF  INTRODUCTION 


If,  in  the  following  pages,  I  diverge  from 
the  beaten  track,  it  shall  be  with  as  much 
care  to  keep  on  practical  ground  as  the 
traveler  exercises  to  maintain  his  bearings 
when  he  strikes  into  a  by-way.  You  may 
safely  accompany  me  with  the  assurance 
that  we  shall  never  lose  sight  of  our  main 
object,  that  of  increasing  our  efficiency  in 
selling  Life  Insurance. 

Salesmanship  is  the  most  important  func- 
tion in  business.  Every  man  in  active  life  has 
something  to  sell, — goods,  services,  knowl- 
edge and  the  rest.  Among  all  the  commod- 
ities and  utilities  offered  for  sale  none  is 
of  such  universal  need  nor  of  such  wide 
beneficence  as  Life  Insurance. 

The  Life  Insurance  salesman  should  be 
the  most  efficient  of  all.  But  he  is  not. 
We  have  been  content  to  adopt  the  more 
or  less  crude  methods  of  our  predecessors. 
We  have  imagined  that  their  practices  could 
not  be  improved  upon,  whereas,  we  might 
learn  valuable  lessons  from  the  street  corner 
fakir  and  itinerant  peddler. 


T'-he  bli^in^ss  -qf  personal  salesmanship 
is  passing  through"  an  acute  stage  of  evolu- 
tion. The  public  and  the  employer  corpor- 
ations are  demanding  efficiency.  Life 
insurance  fieldmen  must  conform  to  this 
movement,  or  drop  back  to  the  tail  of  the 
procession. 

There  is  a  right  and  a  wrong  way  of  doing 
everything,  and  the  right  way  is  usually 
the  easier.  The  requirement  of  today  is 
for  scientific  methods.  This  involves  the 
pains  of  qualification  upon  the  part  of  the 
salesman,  but  it  entails  more  than  commen- 
surate advantages  to  him. 

In  the  effort  to  find  the  best  way,  new 
means  have  been  resorted  to,  with  the  con- 
sequence that  the  latter-day  education  in 
efficiency  carries  the  student  into  unaccus- 
tomed fields.  The  scientific  application  of 
psychology  to  salesmanship  is  a  case  in 
point.  This  departure,  far  as  it  is  from 
the  former  methods,  has  been  sufficiently 
tested  to  prove  its  soundness  and  practic- 
ability. Indeed,  the  innovation,  though 
essential,  consists  of  no  more  than  the  intel- 
ligent application  of  principles  which  have 
always  been  used  by  salesmen  in  a  hap- 
hazard and  unscientific  manner. 

The  design  of  this  little  book  is  to  expose 
the  principles  of  psychology  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  sale  of  a  life  insurance  policy 
and  to  indicate  their  utility  as  a  means  of 
increasing  the  general  efficiency  of  the 
salesman.  I  have  exercised  the  utmost  care 
to  keep  within  practical  lines.  If  at  any 


point  the  advice  given  is  not  apparently 
sound  to  you,  believe  me  that  its  value  has 
been  thoroughly  proven  and  that  a  faithful 
trial  of  it  will  repay  you. 

The  educational  effect  of  this  manual  will 
be  inadequate  unless  it  induces  the  reader  to 
make  a  deeper  study  of  the  subject.  The 
treatment  has  been  suggestive,  rather  than 
exhaustive  or  precise.  You  will  find  in  the 
following  papers  statements  and  hints  which 
it  is  hoped  will  act  as  sign-posts  to  guide 
you  into  paths  of  investigation  and  prac- 
tice. I  have  taken  it  for  granted  that  you 
are  possessed  of  brains,  and  have  done  little 
more  than  to  furnish  you  food  for  reflection. 

F.  L. 

Los  Angeles,  May  1,  1914. 


ONE 

PRACTICAL  PSYCHOLOGY 


These  excursions  below  the  superficial 
aspect  of  our  work  will  be  entirely  free  from 
abstract  philosophy  and  speculative  theo- 
ries. We  shall  not  roam  into  the  field  of 
far-reaching  fancy  but  'keep  rigidly  to  the 
paths  of  practical,  common-sense  fact. 

Salesmanship  is  essentially  a  psychological 
process.  This  is  peculiarly  true  of  life  in- 
surance salesmanship.  The  thing  we  offer 
is  intangible  and  imperceptible.  Our  task 
is  very  different  from  that  of  selling  an 
automobile  or  a  cash  register.  We  can  not 
enlist  the  aid  of  material  senses  but  must 
depend  entirely  upon  sentiment  and  imag- 
ination. 

The  salesman  may  not  realize  it,  but  he 
is  using  psychological  principles  at  every 
step  of  his  canvass.  They  are  the  outcome 
of  his  experience  and  intuition.  In  all  prob- 
ability he  has  no  definite  conception  of  them 
and  consequently  does  not  utilize  them  to 
the  best  advantage. 

You  will  find  the  most  ignorant  farmer 
practicing  certain  methods  which  experi- 
ence has  taught  him  to  be  effective.  He  is 
unconsciously  employing  the  principles  of 
scientific  agriculture.  If  he  understood 
those  principles  he  would  apply  them  more 


efficiently  and  with  far  better  results.  So 
with  us.  A  knowledge  of  the  psychology  of 
salesmanship  will  enable  us  to  turn  to  bet- 
ter account  the  factors  which  we  are  already 
engaging  in  our  business. 

The  process  of  making  a  sale  is  almost 
entirely  a  mental  one.  The  result  is  depen- 
dent upon  the  mental  attitude  and  expres- 
sion of  the  seller  and  the  mental  attitude 
and  impression  of  the  buyer.  It  is  the  out-? 
come  of  the  contact  of  two  minds. 

Now,  if  I  want  to  sell  something  to  Mr. 
Bogue,  I  adopt  certain  mental  tactics  regu- 
lated by  my  knowledge  of  his  condition, 
character,  temperament  and  traits.  I  know 
Mr.  Bogue  and  I  ought  to  be  able  to  can- 
vass him  in  the  most  effective  manner. 

But  what  about  a  stranger?  I  will  endea- 
vor by  learning  what  I  can  regarding  him 
to  secure  in  some  degree  a  similar  advan- 
tage, but  I  must  rely  in  the  main  on  gen- 
eral principles  of  psychology.  Allowing 
for  idiosyncrasies,  every  mind  is  controlled 
to  a  great  extent  by  predilections  and  influ- 
ences that  are  impersonal  and  common  to 
civilized  mankind.  The  action  of  our  minds 
is  much  more  automatic  than  we  realize,  and 
is  largely  prompted  by  physical  conditions, 
instincts  and  habits  that  are  quite  indepen- 
dent of  reasoning  or  moral  motives. 

We  play  upon  these  mental  tendencies  of 
others  in  our  work.  What  we  need  is  a 
clearer  knowledge  of  them  and  a  more 
deliberate  application  of  the  knowledge. 

"But,"  you  say,  "there  is  nothing  new 
about  this.  It  is  merely  human  nature." 
7 


Just  so.  Psychology  is  the  inner  science 
of  human  nature.  Don't  associate  it  with 
metaphysics,  psychism,  or  anything  else 
that  is  mysterious.  Psychology  is  as  prac- 
tical as  physiology  or  anatomy.  You  are  in 
the  habit  of  judging  a  man's  physique  from 
superficial  observation  of  the  body.  Why 
not  form  a  similar  habit  of  gauging  minds 
by  a  study  of  mental  manifestations?  The 
latter  practice  will  be  of  infinitely  greater 
profit  to  you.  It  will  enable  you  to  make 
the  most  of  your  resources,  to  avoid  mis- 
takes, to  take  the  most  direct  route  to  your 
object.  It  will  make  you  a  better  salesman 
and  greatly  increase  the  returns  from  your 
work. 

Now,  what  am  I  doing  at  this  moment? 
I  want  to  interest  you  in  the  study  of  psy- 
chology. I  might  have  expatiated  on  its 
advantages  in  mental  training  and  develop- 
ment. I  might  have  dwelt  upon  its  special 
value  to  the  lawyer  or  physician.  I  might 
have  advanced  a  score  of  reasons  for  my 
advice  that  you  should  direct  your  attention 
to  psychology,  with  the  result  of  stimulating 
some  of  you  by  one,  other/s  by  another 
of  my  reasons.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  have 
confined  myself  to  one  motive — the  love  of 
gain,  which  is  universal  and  which  I  could 
confidently  expect  to  appeal  to  you  all. 
There  you  have  a  practical  illustration  of 
a  psychological  principle,  or,  in  other  words, 
a  common  sense  action  based  on  a  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature. 

As  I  have  said,  from  the  moment  a  sales- 
man enters  the  presence  of  a  prospective  pur- 
8 


chaser  until  he  leaves  him,  mental  processes 
are  influencing  the  negotiation.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  psychology  of  salesmanship  will 
facilitate  the  creation  of  a  good  First  Im- 
pression, of  Interest  in  the  Proposition,  De- 
sire for  the  Thing  offered  and  Resolve  to 
Purchase  it. 


TWO 
ASSOCIATION  OF  IDEAS 


We  have  said  that  a  sale  is  a  psycholog- 
ical process.  The  underlying  operation  con- 
sists of  a  contact  of  two  minds,  a  mingling 
of  their  interests  and  a  meeting  of  their 
motives.  You  approach  your  prospect  and 
bring  his  mind  into  touch  with  yours  on 
the  subject  of  life  insurance.  Now  your 
task  is  to  produce  a  mixing  of  his  thoughts 
with  yours — not  a  mere  compound,  as  the 
chemists  would  say  in  the  case  of  oil  and 
water — but  a  true  blend  as  with  water  and 
wine.  Finally,  you  must  focus  his  thought, 
crystallized  into  Desire  and  Resolve,  upon 
the  act  of  purchase. 

A  simple  metaphor  will  make  this  idea 
clearer.  The  phases  of  a  sale  may  be  lik- 
ened to  two  streams  coming  together  from 
different  directions,  commingling  at  the  con- 
fluence, flowing  on  through  one  bed,  and 
ultimately  emptying  into  a  lake. 

The  most  constant  and  pervasive  influ- 
ences in  our  daily  life  are  what  psycholo- 
gists call  dispositions  and  associated  ideas. 
They  color  our  emotions,  affect  our  senti- 
ments, modify  our  actions  and  permeate 
our  thoughts.  Only  an  absolutely  new  ex- 
perience or  sensation,  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible  to  an  adult,  could  be  free  from  the 

10 


effect  of  an  acquired  disposition  and,  even 
so,  might  be  influenced  by  an  inherited  one. 

Every  experience  must  create  a  more  or 
less  strong  disposition  toward  or  against 
its  repetition.  When  you  first  brought  your 
hand  into  contact  with  fire,  you  burnt  it. 
At  the  same  time  you  acquired  a  disposi- 
tion to  avoid  contact  with  fire  and  ever 
since,  fire  has  been  associated  in  your  mind 
with  danger  and  pain. 

Both  these  processes  are  sometimes  quite 
complex  and  subtle.  While  there  are  varia- 
tions and  marked  exceptions,  the  vast 
majority  of  dispositions  and  associated 
ideas  are  universal.  For  practical  purposes 
these  are  the  only  kind  that  we  can  take  into 
account,  though,  of  course,  we  would  not 
neglect  to  take  advantage  of  the  knowledge 
of  an  idiosyncrasy  in  dealing  with  an  indi- 
vidual. 

Before  I  begin  to  speak  to  the  agents  at 
our  Monday  morning  meetings,  why  do 
they  assume  an  attitude  of  receptive  atten- 
tion? Because  they  have  had  the  experi- 
ence of  being  interested  on  past  occasions. 
But  there  is  no  process  of  reasoning  in- 
volved in  the  matter.  At  previous  times 
we  have  assembled  at  8:45  and  enjoyed 
interesting  discussions.  Again  we  come 
together.  The  hands  of  the  clock  point  to 
8 :45.  I  step  to  my  place.  The  physical  con- 
ditions are  repeated  and  involuntarily  the 
associated  idea  of  interest  springs  out  of  a 
predisposition. 

A  yellow  rag  hanging  from  a  window  pro- 
duces a  disagreeable  effect  upon  you.  Why? 

11 


Because  it  is  associated  with  yellow  fever, 
quarantine,  bile  and  other  objectionable 
matters.  The  yellow  cloth  may  arouse  the 
sensation  without  a  definite  impression  of 
any  of  these  things  being  created. 

The  association  of  ideas  may  be  entirely 
independent  of  deliberate  reasoning  or  voli- 
tional thought.  Bear  that  in  mind.  If  you 
would  test  this,  clap  your  hands  behind  the 
back  of  a  three-months  old  baby.  It  will 
smile  instantly  and  display  evidence  of 
pleasurable  anticipation.  Why?  Because 
in  its  experience  persons  who  clap  their 
hands  make  funny  faces  at  it  and  talk  to  it 
in  goo-goo  language. 

Now  try  your  experiment  on  a  different 
subject.  Clap  your  hands  suddenly  in  the 
street  car  and  watch  the  pained  expression 
come  into  the  face  of  the  sleepy  little  cash 
girl.  In  her  case  the  associated  idea  con- 
jured up  by  the  sound  is  an  unpleasant  one. 

In  the  association  of  ideas  you  have  the 
key  to  successful  salesmanship.  You  will 
find  suggestion  more  effective  than  direct 
appeal. 

I  want  to  impress  upon  you  the  fact  that 
whether  you  will  or  not,  predisposition  and 
the  association  of  ideas  must  be  constantly 
operating  in  your  canvass  of  a  life  insurance 
policy.  If  you  take  no  account  of  them, 
they  will  be  working  against  you,  as  often 
as  in  your  favor.  You  must  play  upon  this 
force,  control  it,  direct  it  so  that  it  shall 
serve  your  purpose.  Regard  for  the  effects 
of  associated  ideas  will  regulate  your  actions 
and  your  speech,  and  that  to  the  extent 

12 


of  what  you  may  consider  insignificant 
trifles.  It  will  influence  your  presentation 
of  a  proposition,  your  arguments  and  your 
statements.  The  practice  of  regarding  the 
association  of  ideas  will  necessarily  create 
the  habit  of  keeping  on  the  prospect's  side 
of  the  fence  throughout  the  course  of  a 
canvass.  It  will  confirm  you  in  the  chess 
player's  strategy  of  prefacing  every  move 
by  an  inspection  of  its  effect  upon  the  op- 
ponent's position  and  a  calculation  of  his 
logical  counteraction. 

Otherwise  inconsequential  actions  may, 
through  the  association  of  ideas,  work 
serious  injury  to  you  in  your  business. 
We  shall  consider  this  subject  in  its 
direct  bearing  on  the  various  phases  of  a 
sale.  At  the  present  time  we  must  be  con- 
tent with  a  few  illustrations  of  the  general 
application  of  this  principle. 

The  principle  under  consideration  is  con- 
stantly violated  or  ignored  in  our  speech. 
We  commonly  excite  an  adverse  train  of 
thought  by  speaking  of  "lapse''  when  we 
might  resort  to  a  favorable  suggestion  by 
referring  to  the  same  condition  as  "selling 
the  policy  to  the  company."  If  instead  of 
talking  of  "paying  premiums,"  we  should 
use  the  term  "making  deposits"  we  would 
arouse  the  associated  idea  of  saving.  In 
scores  of  other  instances  we  either  use 
words  disadvantageously  or  neglect  to  em- 
ploy those  which  would  serve  our  object. 
I  recommend,  as  a  thoroughly  practical 
measure,  that  you  make  from  Roget's  The- 
saurus, or  some  other  dictionary  of  syno- 

13 


nyms  and  antonyms,  collections  of  words 
expressing  the  ideas  that  enter  prominently 
into  our  work, — protection,  profit,  thrift,  se- 
curity, and  so  forth,  as  well  as  their  con- 
traries. Learn  to  incorporate  one  set  in 
your  canvasses  and  to  avoid  the  use  of  the 
other. 

Now  let  us  see  how  the  principle  of  asso- 
ciatd  ideas  may  influence  your  presentation 
of  a  policy  and  your  arguments  in  favor 
of  it. 

You  are  canvassing  a  school  tacher  and 
offer  the  Monthly  Income  Endowment, 
dwelling  on  the  certainty  of  periodical 
checks.  Your  proposition  immediately  cre- 
ates the  pleasant  suggestion  of  the  contin- 
uance of  his  salary.  And  don't  overlook  the 
fact  that  your  prospect  will  imagine  that 
he  originated  the  idea  and  as  a  consequence 
it  will  be  much  more  effective  than  if  you 
had  presented  it.  You  are  in  the  strategic 
situation  of  the  chess-player  who  prompts 
his  adversary  to  make  the  very  move  he 
most  desires  that  he  should. 

Or,  in  the  case  of  the  business  man,  the 
mere  mention  of  the  word  "collateral"  will 
give  birth  to  comfortable  thought  of  easy 
loans  and  a  reserve  resource  in  time  of 
necessity.  You  will  not  need  to  do  more 
than  introduce  the  expression  briefly.  Let 
the  everlasting  action  of  the  association  of 
ideas  do  the  rest. 

Don't  treat  your  prospect  as  a  mental 
incompetent.  Don't  try  to  do  his  thinking 
for  him.  Suggest  and  let  him  do  the  rest. 
The  trouble  with  most  of  us  is  that,  like 

14 


the  parrot  which  came  to  an  untimely  end, 
we  "talk  a  damn  sight  too  much."  The 
masterful  salesman  induces  the  purchaser  to 
sell  himself.  The  most  eloquent  passages 
in  his  canvass  are  the  pauses  of  silence. 

Let  me  repeat,  in  the  universal  mental 
tendency  which  we  term  the  association  of 
ideas  you  have  a  tremendous  force  at  your 
command.  You  may  play  upon  it  as  on  the 
keys  of  a  piano,  producing  discord  or  har- 
mony, harshness  or  melody.  Play  upon  it 
you  must,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  one 
way  or  the  other.  If  you  can  not  avoid  its 
effect  upon  your  effort  it  would  seem  to  be 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  turn  that  effect  to 
your  advantage. 


15 


THREE 
ATTITUDE  OF  THE  SALESMAN 


Let  us  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
task  before  us.  We  have  to  bring  our 
prospect's  mind  into  touch  with  our  own, 
the  point  of  contact  being  the  subject  of 
Life  Insurance.  Next  we  have  to  induce 
him  to  mingle  his  thoughts  with  ours,  so 
as  to  create  a  common  Interest  and  in  this 
condition  to  carry  him  along  with  us  to- 
ward our  objective.  Finally,  we  have  to 
transform  his  Interest  into  Desire  and  the 
Resolve  to  purchase. 

A  sale  then  is  a  process  of  mental  evolu- 
tion. It  has  three  manifest  stages :  the  Ap- 
proach; the  Canvass;  the  Close.  The  last  is 
a  climax  of  the  foregoing.  The  final  result  is 
the  effect  of  efficiency  all  along  the  line. 

It  is  important  to  observe  these  distinct 
phases  of  the  sale,  and  to  confine  your  effort 
during  each  to  the  appropriate  purpose.  In 
the  Approach  your  object  is  to  secure  a 
hearing  for  your  proposition.  Concentrate  on 
that  object.  Having  accomplished  it,  devote 
your  entire  faculties  to  the  creation  of  De- 
sire. Restrict  yourself  to  that  object. 

You  can  make  no  greater  mistake  than 
to  introduce  the  tactics  of  one  stage  into  the 
conduct  of  another.  You  will  confuse  your 
prospect  and  dissipate  your  strength  by  in- 

16 


troducing  your  Canvass  at  the  Approach  or 
attempting  to  Close  before  you  have  created 
a  favorable  condition  in  your  prospect's 
mind.  By  doing  so  you  place  yourself  in  the 
position  of  the  impetuous  chess  player  who 
follows  his  opening  gambit  with  a  premature 
attempt  at  mate.  The  adversary  has  an  easy 
defense  and  a  pronounced  advantage  in  the 
situation. 

Now,  with  a  well-defined  view  of  our  ob- 
ject and  the  manner  in  which  we  intend  to 
pursue  it,  let  us  proceed  to  a  consideration 
of  the  psychology  of  the  Approach.  The 
prime  necessity  at  this  stage  is  to  arouse  in 
your  prospect's  mind  a  feeling  of  receptive- 
ness.  And  the  chief  factor  in  success  is  a 
proper  mental  Attitude  on  your  own  part. 

What  is  a  proper  Attitude  in  the  Ap- 
proach? In  the  main,  it  is  the  Attitude  which 
you  should  maintain  throughout  your  work- 
ing day.  Its  principal  elements  are  Courage, 
Confidence,  Self-respect,  Poise,  Clarity  of 
Thought  and  Determination.  These  are  to 
a  great  extent  inter-dependent  and  their 
presence  almost  insures  the  co-relative  qual- 
ities of  Geniality,  Courtesy  and  Tact. 

I  have  said  that  the  proper  Attitude  in 
the  Approach  is  one  which  you  should  main- 
tain constantly.  The  right  time  to  assume 
it  is  the  moment  you  hit  the  floor  in  the 
morning.  Square  your  shoulders,  draw  a 
few  long  breaths.  Throw  up  your  head  with 
a  "Well,  Old  World,  I'm  going  to  take  an- 
other fall  out  of  you  today"  feeling.  Pre- 
serve your  equanimity  on  the  street  car — 

17 


the  most  difficult  thing  1  could  ask  you  to  do. 
Enter  the  office  with  a  cheery  greeting.  Go 
out  to  your  first  prospect  with  your  mind 
well  balanced,  your  faculties  on  edge  and 
your  feelings  in  tune  with  your  work. 

Let  your  mental  Attitude  manifest  itself 
in  your  bearing  and  address.  Look  the  part 
you  wish  to  act.  Take  advantage  of  the 
law  of  reciprocal  action  and  reaction  between 
mind  and  body.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest 
agencies  at  your  command  and  one  of  the 
most  easy  to  put  into  operation.  You  can- 
not look  jolly  without  feeling  cheerful.  You 
cannot  feel  depressed  without  looking  glum. 
Try  a  simple  experiment  in  this  direction. 
Stand  with  your  mind  as  nearly  blank  as 
possible.  Turn  your  eyes  upward.  Within 
sixty  seconds  you  find  your  thoughts  ele- 
vated. Now  look  upon  the  ground.  Almost 
immediately  you  feel  a  tendency  to  reverie. 
Now  look  sideways.  Thoughts  of  distrust 
and  suspicion  intrude  upon  the  mind.  In 
these  little  tests  you  are  employing  the 
smallest  set  of  muscles  in  the  body.  You 
may  secure  much  more  marked  results  by 
the  employment  of  the  larger  muscles  in 
more  extended  action. 

Don't  wait  until  you  are  confronted  by 
your  task  to  get  into  the  right  Attitude. 
You  can't  do  it.  The  engineer  doesn't  defer 
getting  up  steam  until  he  is  on  the  track.  He 
does  that  in  the  roundhouse,  and  when  he  is 
coupled  to  his  train  he  is  ready  to  pull  out 
at  full  speed. 

18 


Now,  a  few  brief  remarks  on  the  chief 
elements  of  the  proper  Attitude. 

Fear  or  timidity  is  the  least  excusable  of 
our  failings.  You  are  a  business  man  meet- 
ing another  business  man.  In  nine  cases  out 
of  every  ten  your  calling  is  a  far  nobler  one 
than  his.  If  you  are  doing  your  work  hon- 
estly you  are  at  least  his  equal.  If  you  are 
doing  it  efficiently  you  are  probably  his  su- 
perior. To  cap  all,  your  errand  is  to  do  him 
an  inestimable  service.  Keep  these  facts 
prominently  before  your  mind's  eye.  Get  the 
right  Attitude. 

Timidity  has  a  distinctly  detrimental  ef- 
fect upon  your  work.  It  is  instinctively  as- 
sociated in  our  minds  with  shame  and  weak- 
ness. The  man  who  approaches  us  with  em- 
barrassment makes  a  disagreeable  impres- 
sion upon  us.  Why?  Because  experience 
has  taught  us  that  the  man  who  addresses 
us  in  a  shrinking  manner  is  going  to  borrow 
money  or  say  something  which  will  be  un- 
pleasant to  hear. 

Before  you  have  got  so  far  as  to  state  your 
business,  you  have  often  created  an  adverse 
impression  by  an  air  of  hesitancy  and  apol- 
ogy. If  you  are  afflicted  with  this  failing  you 
must  overcome  it. 

Confidence  is  begotten  of  honest  intention, 
consciousness  of  ability  and  conviction  of 
the  worth  of  the  thing  we  have  to  sell.  It  is 
a  great  force  in  the  Approach.  The  confident 
man  is  the  personification  of  power.  In- 
stinctively we  begin  to  let  down  the  barriers 
at  his  approach.  It  is  as  though  a  pigmy 

19 


should  see  a  giant  coming  along  with  a  large 
placard  upon  his  breast  inscribed:  "I  am 
going  to  do  something."  The  little  fellow 
would  say,  "I  don't  know  what  it  is,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  you  will  do  it  if  you  want  to." 

This  is  the  chief  asset  of  the  Rufus  P. 
Wallingfords.  It  opens  doors  and  emp- 
ties purses  for  them.  They  take  advantage 
of  the  principle  of  associated  ideas  and  the 
fact  that  frank  speech  and  an  open  manner 
are  naturally  suggestive  of  honesty.  If  these 
indications  were  tested  by  reason  they  would 
not  be  accepted  so  readily.  We  know  that  a 
hardened  crook  may  have  an  eye  as  steady 
as  the  pole  star  whilst  a  perfectly  honest 
man  may  have  a  shifty  look. 

Acquire  Confidence  by  forming  a  solid 
substructure  of  efficiency  for  it  to  rest  upon. 

Of  Self-respect  I  need  say  little  .  It  de- 
pends upon  inherent  characteristics  and  ac- 
quired qualities.  You  cannot  play  a  manly 
part  without  it.  Foster  it  by  every  means 
in  your  power.  Cherish  it  £s  your  most 
valuable  possession.  Jealously  guarcLagainst 
the  least  impairment  of  it.  Bear  in  mind  that 
this  is  entirely  under  your  control.  No  one 
but  yourself  can  injure  your  Self-respect. 
Another  can  arouse  in  you  any  emotion  but 
one.  He  can  not  make  you  feel  mean.  That 
feeling  must  emanate  from  some  fault  of 
your  own. 

Poise  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  char- 
acteristics. The  man  who  laughs  unre- 
strainedly, talks  excitedly  or  slops  over 
sentimentally  exhibits  weakness.  On  the 

20 


other  hand,  the  man  who  seldom  allows  full 
play  to  his  emotions  and  feelings  suggests 
reserve  force. 

Keep  yourself  constantly  in  check.  Only 
in  this  way  may  you  exert  your  mental  fac- 
ulties to  the  best  advantage.  When  the  hab- 
itually poised  man  opens  the  sluice  gates  of 
his  soul  on  justifiable  occasion  the  flood  of 
force  is  immeasurably  greater  than  if  he  had 
them  half  open  all  the  time. 

Clarity  of  Thought,  which  is,  of  course, 
the  mother  of  clarity  of  speech,  is  constantly 
possible  only  to  a  well-poised  mind.  There 
is  no  more  effective  agency  at  the  command 
of  the  salesman  than  the  clear  expression  of 
a  well-defined  thought.  Its  most  essential 
element  is  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
subject.  I  can  make  a  statement  pertaining 
to  life  insurance  more  clearly  than  the  great- 
est orator  or  the  brainiest  man  alive,  if  he 
should  be  ignorant  of  the  subject.  And  be- 
cause my  statement,  though  couched  in 
homely  language,  would  penetrate  your  un- 
derstanding farther  than  his,  though  con- 
veyed with  striking  eloquence,  I  would  con- 
vince you  before  he  would. 

Spend  no  time  in  practicing  rhetoric  or 
elocution.  Learn  to  think  logically  and  hon- 
estly. Spare  no  pains  in  acquiring  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  your  subject.  And  you 
may  depend  upon  it  that  your  presentation 
will  be  clear  and  forceful.  That  is  true  elo- 
quence, regardless  of  the  verbiage. 

Determination  is  the  quality  of  being  earn- 
est and  decided ;  the  resolve  to  accomplish 
a  purpose.  If  you  approach  a  prospect  with 

21 


an  earnest  Attitude  and  a  decided  resolve  to 
secure  a  hearing,  believe  me,  you  will  suc- 
ceed in  almost  every  case. 

Obstruction  melts  away  before  a  Deter- 
mined Attitude.  A  thing  willed  is  a  thing 
more  than  half  done. 

Now  let  us  take  these  qualities — this 
woof  and  weft — and  pass  them  through  the 
loom.  What  is  the  resultant  fabric?  Per- 
sonality. The  Attitude  of  the  salesman 
should  be  an  expression  of  his  Personality. 
The  Attitude  of  the  salesman  should  be  in- 
dicative of  the  qualities  we  have  considered. 
The  true  Attitude  is  a  natural  one.  It  fol- 
lows that  the  Personality  of  the  Salesman 
must  embrace  Courage,  Confidence,  Self-re- 
spect, Poise  and  Determination. 


22 


FOUR 

THE  APPROACH 


In  the  companion  book,  styled  "Effici- 
ency/' the  outward  or  superficial  features  of 
the  Approach  are  examined  and  various 
methods  of  "getting  in"  to  see  a  prospect 
are  described.  The  contents  of  the  chapter 
on  this  subject  in  "Efficiency"  should  be 
considered  in  connection  with  the  following 
study  of  the  inward  or  psychological  phases 
of  the  Approach. 

If  you  are  in  the  right  mental  attitude  the 
means  you  employ  to  see  your  prospect  will 
not  be  deceptive,  devious  nor  dishonest.  Any 
success  secured  by  such  means  mustbe  short- 
lived and  dearly  bought.  Its  discovery  will 
be  accompanied  by  the  creation  of  an  ad- 
verse mental  condition  on  the  part  of  the 
prospect,  which  you  will  have  to  overcome. 
What  folly  to  open  in  such  a  manner  a  pro- 
ject which  depends  for  its  successful  out- 
come upon  the  establishment  of  Confidence! 
If  you  were  a  process-server,  your  end  would 
be  accomplished  when  you  entered  your 
man's  office.  But  as  a  salesman  that  is  only 
a  preliminary  step  in  your  purpose,  though 
an  important  one  which  should  be  taken  with 
all  the  pains  possible  to  create  conditions 
favorable  to  the  success  of  your  next  step. 

This  admonition  against  equivocal  meth- 

23 


ods  is  not  to  be  construed  as  a  recommenda- 
tion of  unrestrained  frankness.  The  chief 
motives  on  which  you  have  to  rely  for  an 
interview  are  Curiosity  and  Interest.  In  the 

endeavor  to  excite  these  you  may  legiti- 
mately exercise  a  certain  degree  of  reserve 
and  resort  to  a  certain  degree  of  ambiguity 
in  your  statement.  But  you  must  not  state 
an  untruth,  nor  make  any  assertion  which 
will  not  be  borne  out  in  your  canvass. 

The  principle  involved  in  the  matter  is 
illustrated  in  the  chapter  of  "Efficiency" 
treating  the  "Approach."  From  the  same 
source  you  may  gain  some  additional  sug- 
gestions relating  to  the  psychological  pro- 
cesses entering  into  the  effort  to  secure  an 
interview. 

At  the  first  contact  with  your  prospect 
the  important  thing  is  to  impress  him  by 
your  personality.  The  more  natural  your 
attitude  the  more  effectively  you  may  do 
this.  If  you  possess  the  qualities  which 
have  been  enumerated  as  elements  of  the 
proper  attitude,  you  will  be  satisfied  that 
your  prospect  should  "see  through  you,"  as 
the  saying  is.  You  will  invite  his  closest 
scrutiny.  It  goes  without  saying  that  you 
will  avoid  anything  calculated  to  distract 
his  attention  from  your  real  self.  Manner- 
isms, peculiarities  of  dress,  business  cards, 
are  such  distractions. 

The  first  five  minutes  in  the  presence  of  a 
prospect  is  nearly  always  of  great  conse- 
quence to  you,  and  not  infrequently  it  is 
the  crucial  period  of  your  entire  intercourse 

24 


with  him.  It  is  then  that  he  forms  his  first, 
and  perhaps  final,  estimate  of  you.  Men  of 
affairs  are  in  the  habit  of  "sizing  a  man  up" 
quickly.  This  first  impression  is  created 
more  by  the  outward  expression  of  a  sales- 
man's personality  or  mental  attitude  than 
by  what  he  says.  If  it  be  a  favorable  im- 
pression it  remains  with  him  to  improve  or 
impair  it  in  his  later  contact  with  the  pros- 
pect. 

On  this  point  the  Instruction  Manual  of 
the  National  Cash  Register  Company  says: 
"It  is  not  sufficient  to  be  merely  a  negative 
quality.  You  should  make  a  positive  favor- 
able impression,  and  not  by  cajolery,  nor 
attempted  wit,  nor  cleverness.  The  only 
right  way  to  gain  a  man's  liking  is  to  de- 
serve it.  The  majority  of  men  do  not  often 
know  just  what  the  characteristics  of  a  man 
are  which  make  him  pleasing  or  displeasing 
to  them ;  but  they  FEEL  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased, attracted  or  repulsed,  or  indifferent, 
and  the  feeling  is  definite  and  pronounced, 
even  though  they  can  not  understand  just 
what  makes  it." 

Whilst  there  may  occasionally  be  other 
motives  to  which  you  will  appeal  for  the 
granting  of  an  interview,  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  cases  you  must  depend  upon  ex- 
citing Curiosity  or  Interest,  if  not  both. 

Curiosity  is  in  fact  an  elemental  form  of 
Interest,  but  it  lacks  the  specific  quality  that 
characerizes  Associated  Interest  which  we 
shall  consider  presently. 

25 


Curiosity  is  at  once  the  most  primitive  and 
the  most  universal  trait  of  mankind.  Per- 
haps it  is  a  heritage  from  our  monkey  an- 
cestors and  was  a  highly  useful  quality  when 
safety  prompted  the  investigation  of  every 
strange  creature  and  novel  condition,  and 
when  the  scanty  knowledge  of  the  race  was 
advanced  almost  solely  by  the  acquisition 
of  new  experience.  At  the  dawn  of  civiliz- 
ation Curiosity,  hardly  less  than  Necessity, 
prompted  the  discovery  of  the  useful  arts. 
But  this  is  a  digression. 

If  you  can  arouse  Curiosity  in  your  pros- 
pect you  will  have,  at  least,  secured  his  At- 
tention and  gone  an  appreciable  way  toward 
exciting  his  Interest.  In  some  instances  this 
may  be  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  imme- 
diate object  of  the  Approach — that  is,  to 
obtain  for  you  the  desired  interview. 

The  principle  involved  is  illustrated  in  the 
tactics  of  the  street  fakir  and  the  barker  for 
a  dime  museum,  which  are  too  familiar  to 
be  dwelt  upon. 

An  Associated  Interest  is  one  relating  to 
the  personal  affairs  of  an  individual.  It 
would  be  almost,  but  not  quite,  exact  to 
call  it  self-interest.  When  you  state :  "I 
can  save  you  money" ;  "My  proposition  will 
promote  your  business";  you  are  arousing 
Associated  Interest. 

Don't  confuse  this  with  the  direct  and 
definite  Interest  which  you  must  excite  by 
the  presentation  of  your  proposition.  That 
belongs  to  the  next  stage  of  the  sale.  At 

26 


present  your  efforts  are  restricted  to  secur- 
ing an  interview. 

A  little  thought  and  observation  will  sug- 
gest many  ways  of  bringing  Curiosity  and 
Associated  Interest  into  play.  I  will  give 
you  three  illustrations,  in  the  form  of  re- 
plies to  the  objections  most  frequently  made 
to  the  agent  in  the  Approach. 

"I  don't  want  any  more  life  insurance." 

"Why,  Mr.  High,  I  know  you  don't.  If  you 

did  you'd  have  telephoned  to  the Mutual 

before  this  to  have  a  man  sent  to  you.  Of 
course  you  don't  want  what  I  have  to  offer 
you.  You  can't  desire  a  thing  of  which  you 
have  no  conception.  If  I  am  not  greatly  mis- 
taken my  proposition  is  such  as  you  have 
never  thought  or  heard  of.  You  can't  afford 
to  miss  the  opportunity  of  looking  into  it." 

"I  have  all  the  life  insurance  I  want." 

"Now,  tell  me  honestly,  Mr.  Collins,  the 
last  time  you  took  life  insurance  didn't  you 
make  exactly  the  same  statement  to  the 
agent  when  he  approached  you?  It  was 
true,  too.  But  when  you  learned  what  he 
had  to  offer,  you  took  it,  and  you  have  been 
glad  ever  since  that  you  did.  Is  it  not  pos- 
sible that  you  may  repeat  that  profitable 
experience  with  me?" 

"I  have  all  I  need." 

"I  wonder  whether  you  have  figured  that 
by  the  new  method  recognized  by  business 
men,  financiers,  banks  and  other  corpora- 
tions nowadays.  Do  you  know  that  there 
is  a  mathematical  standard  logically  cal- 
culable from  every  man's  domestic  and  busi- 

27 


ness  conditions?  No?  It  is  the  most  inter- 
esting sort  of  computation.  Let  us  step  into 
your  office  for  a  moment  and  I  will  explain 
it  to  you." 

Remember  you  are  not  entering  on  your 
canvass  at  this  time.  Don't  be  led  into 
making  a  statement  of  your  proposition. 
Your  object  is  to  obtain  an  interview.  Get 
that  or  nothing.  More  depends  upon  it  than 
the  important  condition  of  securing  a  fa- 
vorable opportunity  to  make  your  canvass. 
Success  in  this  first  tilt  with  your  prospect 
will  give  you  a  certain  degree  of  mental 
dominance  over  him  which  you  will  preserve 
and  increase  in  the  later  negotiation. 


28 


FIVE 

MENTAL  ATTITUDE  OF  THE 
PROSPECT 


We  are  assuming  that  you  have  secured 
an  interview  and  that  you  are  about  to  en- 
ter upon  the  Canvass,  or  presentation  of 
your  proposition.  You  have  aroused  Inter- 
est. Your  object  now  is  to  develop  that 
feeling  into  Desire.  You  have  brought 
about  a  contact  of  the  two  minds.  The 
next  step  is  to  induce  a  blending  of  their 
interests  and  ideas. 

We  have  described  the  proper  mental  At- 
titude for  you  in  the  Approach.     This  Atti- 
tude should  be  a  permanent  condition — a  re- 
flection of  your  Personality.   You  will  carry  k 
it  into  your  Canvass. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  mental  Attitude 
which  it  is  desirable  for  you  to  create  in 
your  Prospect.  As  a  preliminary  to  the  ex- 
amination of  this  phase  of  our  subject  I 
will  ask  you  to  re-read  the  preceding  chap- 
ter dealing  with  dispositions  and  associated 
ideas. 

It  must  be  assumed  that  you  have  made 
reasonable  effort  to  learn  what  you  could 
about  your  Prospect.  Perhaps  you  have  the 
great  advantage  of  knowing  something  of 
his  characteristics,  traits,  prejudices  and 

29 


tendencies.  In  this  case  you  will  disregard 
or  modify  the  general  principles  of  psy- 
chology which  are  safe  tactical  guides  in  a 
large  majority  of  instances.  In  the  course 
of  the  Canvass  you  should  be  watchful  to 
detect  indications  of  mental  idiosyncrasies 
and  alert  to  adapt  your  tactics  to  them. 

The  necessary  limits  of  these  papers  for- 
bid a  discussion  of  methods  peculiarly  fitted 
to  influence  men  of  certain  temperaments 
and  dispositions.  Such  knowledge  is  valu- 
able, however,  and  the  salesman  is  strongly 
recommended  to  cultivate  it.  Observation 
is  the  best  school  of  education  in  this  re- 
spect. Intelligent  practice  will  develop  a 
surprising  degree  of  detective  skill  in  a  short 
while.  Perseverance  will  ultimate  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  faculty  akin  to  a  sixth  sense 
which  is  enjoyed  by  some  salesmen  who  can 
correctly  gauge  a  man's  "quality"  or  "grain" 
at  sight,  and  find  in  the  course  of  a  short 
conversation,  clues  to  his  chief  characteris- 
tics. 

The  dispositions  which  we  may  depend 
upon  finding  more  or  less  prominently  pres- 
ent in  our  Prospect's  mental  make-up  are 
love  of  kin,  love  of  gain,  self-esteem  and  sus- 
ceptibility to  flattery.  The  average  person- 
ality embraces  all  these  traits.  In  endeav- 
oring to  stimulate  Desire  these  are  the  senti- 
ments and  conditions  upon  which  we  must 
play.  These  are  the  main  sources  of  the 
Motives  that  will  prompt  your  Prospect  to 
purchase. 

30 


The  prime  essential  to  success  in  the  cre- 
ation of  Desire  is  a  clear  cut  presentation  of 
the  thing  offered.  A  prerequisite  to  such  a 
presentation  is  a  clear  cut  conception  on  the 
part  of  the  salesman  of  the  thing  he  is  offer- 
ing. The  life  insurance  solicitor  must  have  a 
thorough  understanding  of  his  policy.  He 
cannot  comprehensively  explain  it  other- 
wise. The  Prospect  must  receive  a  distinct 
mental  impression  of  it.  He  cannot  fully 
Desire  it  otherwise. 

The  mind  naturally  welcomes  new  ideas 
when  presented  to  it  in  a  simple  and  easily 
assimilable  form.  It  just  as  naturally  ab- 
hors those  which  are  complex  and  nebulous. 
The  former  stimulate  it,  whilst  the  latter 
confuse  and  irritate. 

The  bird-shot  presentation  of  a  proposi- 
tion peppers  a  man's  mind  all  over  with  a 
great  number  of  ineffectively  expressed 
statements,  none  of  which  penetrates  to  the 
centre  of  his  comprehension.  The  rifle 
method  sends  six  or  eight  bullets  from  the 
magazine  clean  into  the  mind's  bullseye. 

The  man  who  might  restrict  his  presenta- 
tion to  the  simple  statement:  "This  policy 
will  guarantee  the  payment  of  $10,000  at 
your  death,"  would  stand  a  better  chance  of 
getting  an  application  than  the  man  who 
should  essay  to  explain  every  clause  and 
feature  of  the  contract. 

In  order  to  bring  about  the  desired  blend 
of  the  Prospect's  mind  with  yours,  you  must 
be  completely  absorbed  in  your  subject. 
Earnestness  will  always  hold  attention  and 

31 


stimulate  interest.  Use  paper  and  pencil. 
Illustrate  your  main  points  by  simple  dia- 
grams and  write  down  your  principle  fig- 
ures. When  your  Prospect  begins  to  use 
such  expressions  as  "That's  so,"  "I  see,"  etc., 
his  mind  is  beginning  to  mix  in  with  yours. 
Let  it  do  so  in  due  proportion.  Encourage 
him  to  make  some  of  the  calculations  and 
to  reach  some  of  the  conclusions  by  inde- 
pendent reasoning.  Suggest  and  let  him 
draw  deductions.  Ask  his  opinion  now  and 
again  and  do  it  with  an  air  of  being  inter- 
estedly anxious  to  know  what  it  is.  Try  to 
induce  in  his  mind  the  feeling  that  "WE  are 
threshing  out  this  thing  together,"  not  that 
you  are  trying  to  drive  him  into  it.  There 
are  times  to  be  positive  and  times  to  be 
conciliatory  and  compromising.  Reserve 
your  force  for  the  closing  stage.  Lead  him 
now.  You  may  push  him  then. 

Whilst  you  are  making  your  presentation 
be  on  the  look-out  for  the  Motive  that  is 
most  likely  to  influence  your  Prospect. 
Having  detected  it,  make  it  the  focal  point 
of  your  Canvass  thereafter.  Concentrate  on 
it.  Direct  all  your  efforts  towards  stimu- 
lating it,  and  make  the  utmost  use  of  the 
principle  of  Disposition  and  Associated 
Ideas. 

You  are  now  seeking  a  Motive  to  prompt 
Desire.  You  may  have  to  find  another  to 
effect  the  Close.  One  Motive  may  create 
willingness  to  insure  and  quite  another  de- 
cide the  Prospect  to  sign  the  application. 
For  instance,  in  the  former  case  it  may  be 

32 


Love  of  Gain;  in  the  latter,  an  approaching 
change  of  age. 

"System"  says :  "Typewriters,  automo- 
biles, bonds, — anything  you  may  have  to 
sell — are  all  dry  subjects.  And  if  you  try  to 
build  your  Canvass  entirely  on  them — on 
your  goods — you  will  build  a  dry,  uninter- 
esting Canvass.  But  a  man's  Motive — his 
pride,  or  desire  for  gain,  his  caution  or  weak- 
nesses, are  live,  interesting  things  and  a  Can- 
vass built  around  them  is  bound  to  be  alive." 

Having  brought  about  a  mingling  of  your 
Prospect's  thoughts  with  your  own,  it  is 
necessary  to  maintain  that  condition.  In 
order  to  do  this  you  must  control  the  inter- 
view. This  implies  that  you  must  regulate 
your  Prospect's  thoughts.  You  know  the 
course  which  they  should  be  taking.  Keep 
them  to  it.  If  your  Prospect  makes  a  diver- 
sion, bring  him  back.  Follow  him  only  for 
the  purpose  of  doing  so. 

In  such  situations  salesmen  commit  two 
common  errors.  They  either  allow  the 
Prospect  to  side-track  them  or  they  DRAG 
him  back  to  the  point  of  departure.  The 
expert  accompanies  his.  man  in  the  diverg- 
ence with  a  show  of  interest,  makes  a  short 
detour,  and  smoothly  leads  him  into  the 
path  again.  At  this  stage  of  the  Canvass 
he  avoids  mental  jolts.  That  form  of  stimu- 
lus should  be  employed  only  in  the  approach 
and  as  a  means  of  reviving  waning  interest. 

The  worst  obstruction  with  which  the 
salesman  has  to  contend  in  the  conduct  of 
an  interview  are  such  distractions  as  tele- 

33 


phone  calls  and  interruptions  by  employees. 
After  one  of  these,  it  is  generally  best  not 
to  resume  at  the  point  where  you  were  cut 
off.  Go  back  a  little  way  and  repeat  what 
you  had  been  saying  shortly  before  the  in- 
terruption. The  blending  of  your  Prospect's 
thoughts  with  your  own  will  be  most  readily 
resumed  by  your  asking  him  a  question 
bearing  upon  the  statements  which  you  had 
made  just  before  the  disturbance.  Make  it 
a  pertinent  question  and  wait  for  the  reply, 
thus  inducing  him  to  detach  his  thoughts 
from  the  matter  that  had  intervened  and 
direct  them  again  to  the  subject  of  your 
Canvass. 

Now  let  us  summarize.  Having  by  the 
excitement  of  Curiosity  or  Associated  In- 
terest secured  an  interview,  you  must  pro- 
ceed to  create  direct  Interest  in  your  propo- 
sition and  develop  that  Interest  into  Desire 
for  the  policy  which  you  are  offering.  You 
must  make  a  clear  presentation  of  the  con- 
tract. You  should  endeavor  by  suggestion 
and  the  operation  of  associated  ideas  to  in- 
duce your  Prospect  to  evolve  in  his  mind 
and  to  express  some  of  the  features  and  ad- 
vantages of  the  policy.  You  must  bring 
his  mind  into  co-operation  with  your  own. 
And  you  must  control  the  interview. 


34 


SIX 

THE  CANVASS 


We  are  now  going  to  consider  the  Can- 
vass, or  actual  sale. 

Someone  has  said  that  "a  sale  resembles 
chimney-building  in  that  it  takes  more  time 
for  preliminary  scaffold-making  than  it 
does  to  build  the  permanent  structure,  once 
the  scaffold  is  made." 

As  a  preparation  for  this  stage  of  your 
effort  you  should  be  in  possession  of  all 
the  obtainable  information  regarding  your 
Prospect  and  you  should  have  made  a  care- 
ful rehearsal  of  your  Canvass.  You  need 
to  know  your  policy  so  that  you  can  ex- 
plain it ;  not  only  to  an  expert  in  life  in- 
surance, but  also  to  a  man  who  knows 
nothing  about  the  subject. 

Throughout  your  statement  let  Logic  and 
Fact  be  your  guide-posts.  Don't  say  any- 
thing but  what  will  appeal  to  your  Pros- 
pect's reason,  nor  anything  but  what  you 
are  prepared  to  substantiate.  Remember 
that  your  success  depends  upon  the  crea- 
tion of  Confidence. 

See  that  your  Mental  Attitude  is  right 
before  you  enter  upon  a  Canvass.  Key 
yourself  up  to  a  state  of  confident  hopeful- 
ness and  eager  enthusiasm.  Above  all, 
banish  every  vestige  of  Fear  and  Doubt. 

35 


Remind  yourself  that  it  is  no  great  matter 
whether  you  get  this  particular  application 
or  not.  But  that  you  are  going  to  make  an 
earnest  effort  to  secure  it  and,  even  though 
you  fail,  you  will  be  better  and  your  Pros- 
pect will  be  better  for  your  attempt. 

A  good  Canvass  is  a  profitable  perform- 
ance, though  you  don't  make  a  penny  out 
of  it  directly.  Your  work  is  not  confined  to 
reaping.  An  important  part  of  it  is  tilling. 
Be  willing  to  do  something  for  the  good 
of  the  cause.  You  are  constantly  benefiting 
by  the  labor  of  someone  else.  If  we  should 
all  restrict  our  attention  to  ripe  cases  there 
would  shortly  be  no  insurance  to  write. 

We  will  assume  that  you  have  made  a 
successful  Approach  and  that  you  are  about 
to  enter  upon  the  Canvass  of  your  Pros- 
pect. Let  us  consider  your  task  in  its 
psychological  aspects. 

There  are  nine  mental  states  through 
which  a  Prospect  passes  from  the  first  Ap- 
proach of  the  agent  to  the  signing  of  the 
application.  These  are:  1.  Involuntary  At- 
tention. 2.  First  Impression.  3.  Curiosity. 
4.  Associated  Interest.  5.  Consideration. 
6.  Imagination.  7.  Desire.  8.  Deliberation. 
9.  Resolve. 

The  first  three  of  these,  and  sometimes 
the  fourth,  are  associated  with  the  Ap- 
proach. The  fifth,  Consideration,  ushers  in 
the  opening  phase  of  the  Canvass.  Your 
Prospect's  mind  has  become  receptive  to 
your  proposition.  He  has  decided  to  look 
into  it.  He  has  passed  from  the  passively 

36 


interested  to  the  actively  interested  state, 
and  expressly  or  tacitly  invites  you  to  pre- 
sent your  policy.  It  is  here  that  the  blend- 
ing of  the  thoughts  begins  and  the  actual 
selling  commences. 

If  your  presentation  is  lucid,  logical  and 
easily  assimilable  by  your  Prospect's  mind 
it  will  excite  his  Imagination,  which  is  an 
essential  prelude  to  Desire.  A  man  must 
have  a  mental  picture  of  a  thing  before  he 
can  wish  to  possess  it. 

It  is  at  this  stage  that  you  convey  to  your 
Prospect  your  own  realization  of  the  value 
of  the  policy  you  are  offering  and  the  many 
advantages  it  may  secure  to  him.  Your  en- 
deavor should  be  to  make  him  imagine  him- 
self in  possession  of  it,  not  now  but  years 
hence  and  his  beneficiary  ultimately  deriv- 
ing the  benefit  of  it.  You  will  find  Sugges- 
tion and  the  Association  of  Ideas  more  ef- 
fective agencies  than  explicit  statements  in 
arousing  the  desired  condition  of  Imagina- 
tion. 

Imagination  is  a  direct  current  operating 
Desire.  The  woman  looking  at  a  hat  in  a 
show  window  imagines  it  on  her  head.  The 
man  examining  an  automobile  feels  himself 
in  imagination  flying  over  country  roads  in 
it.  The  merchant  considering  an  order  for 
goods  imagines  himself  selling  them  at  a 
profit.  Your  Prospect  should  imagine  his 
widow  maintaining  the  home,  his  children 
being  educated,  his  old-age  passed  in  com- 
fort on  the  proceeds  of  the  policy  you  have 
presented  to  him. 

37 


If  the  thought  rested  on  purchase,  Desire 
would  never  arise.  The  thought  must  ex- 
tend to  after-possession  and  be  associated 
with  the  ideas  of  enjoyment,  utility,  profit 
and  beneficence.  Introduce  your  policy  as  a 
three-year-old  proposition  and  make  it  grow 
fast.  It  is  fatal  to  let  your  Prospect's  mind 
linger  on  the  period  of  the  birth. 

At  this  point  let  me  remind  you  of  the 
injunction  used  in  "Efficiency,"  not  to  men- 
tion the  premium  until  the  close  of  your 
presentation  and  then  to  couple  it  with  the 
settlement.  Don't  refer  to  the  child's  birth 
until  it  has  attained  maturity  in  your  de- 
scription. 

The  presentation  of  your  policy  has  been 
accompanied  and  followed  by  arguments 
and  suggestions  which  have  stimulated  the 
Imagination  until  inclination  or  Desire  is 
aroused.  The  blending  of  the  minds  is  com- 
plete. You  wish  to  sell  and  your  Prospect 
wishes  to  buy.  But  he  has  not  resolved 
to  do  so. 

A  boy  may  Desire  an  apple  and  be  un- 
able to  summon  resolution  to  climb  the  tree. 
A  man  may  desire  wealth  and  lack  the  de- 
cision to  work  for  it.  A  woman  may  Desire 
health  and  be  too  weak  minded  to  pay  the 
price  of  it.  In  fact,  most  of  us  have  more 
wishbone  than  backbone. 

There  is  a  distinct  gap  between  Desire 
and  Action.  It  is  spanned  by  the  bridge  of 
Deliberation.  The  consideration  of  this 
final  stage  belongs  to  the  section  of  our  sub- 
ject devoted  to  Closing. 

38 


SEVEN 
THE  CLOSE 


In  this  process  your  Prospect  is  influenced 
by  facts  and  reason  and  also  by  various  sen- 
timents. This  necessarily  involves  a  mental 
conflict.  Your  presentation  and  arguments 
have  created  a  Desire,  but  the  progress  of 
this  toward  Resolve  is  checked  by  caution, 
perhaps  doubt,  and  almost  surely  by  the  com- 
mon tendency  to  procrastinate. 

These  are  boulders  in  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  impeding,  but  not  stopping,  the  flow 
of  Desire.  In  the  Closing  stage  of  the  sale 
your  entire  task  consists  in  removing  them. 
The  instrument  which  you  must  employ  for 
the  purpose  is  Motive.  Play  incessantly 
upon  the  particular  Motive  which  you  be- 
lieve to  be  most  likely  to  stir  your  Prospect 
to  the  point  of  resolution.  Make  your  argu- 
ment pointed  and  restricted.  If  it  be  diffuse 
there  is  danger  of  your  setting  up  fresh  ob- 
stacles in  place  of  those  you  remove. 

Bear  in  mind  that  with  the  majority  of 
persons  "reasoning"  resolves  into  seeking 
excuses  for  doing  what  they  wish.  Encour- 
age this  disposition  by  supplying  reasons 
or  excuses,  or,  better  still,  by  stimulating 
your  Prospect  to  think  of  them  by  the 
method  of  Suggestion. 

39 


In  the  play  and  counter-play  of  conflict- 
ing considerations,  the  balance  is  often 
turned  by  a  feather-weight,  but  frequently 
the  feather  is  dropped  into  the  wrong  scale. 

Too  often  the  salesman  makes  the  mis- 
take at  this  stage  of  returning  to  the  Can- 
vass— reviewing  his  presentation.  If  his 
work  has  been  done  rightly  the  desirability 
of  the  proposition  is  no  longer  in  question. 
That  the  Prospect  wants  the  policy  may  be 
taken  for  granted;  otherwise  you  have  no 
business  at  the  Closing  stage. 

This  is  the  stage  of  argument  and  the 
excitement  of  Associated  Ideas.  On  the 
part  of  the  salesman  it  calls  for  alert  brain 
work,  tact  and  finesse.  And  throughout  he 
must  maintain  an  Attitude  of  forceful  self- 
possession.  Many  men  will  conduct  a  sale  to 
this  point  in  a  masterful  manner  and  then 
fall  for  lack  of  force  or  by  reason  of  over- 
anxiety.  The  accumulated  influence  which 
you  have  acquired  over  your  Prospect  in  the 
preceding  stages  must  be  maintained  in  this 
and  enhanced. 

Whilst  the  Close  is  the  critical  phase  of 
the  sale  and  the  one  in  which  the  highest 
powers  are  exercised,  it  is  unquestionable 
that  salesmen  are  prone  to  magnify  its 
difficulties.  This  gives  rise  to  feelings  of 
doubt  and  dread  which,  through  the  action 
of  auto-suggestion,  become  habitual  and 
seriously  impair  efficiency. 

Closing  is  admittedly  the  most  difficult 
process  in  a  sale  and,  for  that  reason,  the 

40 


greatest  pains  should  be  devoted  to  acquir- 
ing skill  in  it.  But,  that  it  is  by  no  means  so 
formidable  an  accomplishment  as  it  appears 
to  be,  may  be  adduced  from  the  fact  that  so 
many  men  of  ordinary  calibre  become  pro- 
ficient in  it. 

In  this  effort  to  attain  expertness  in  Clos- 
ing the  salesman  must  be  careful  not  to 
neglect  the  stages  of  the  sale  leading  up  to 
it.  Indeed,  the  result  of  the  final  effort  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  manner  in  which  the 
preceding  processes  of  the  sale  have  been 
conducted.  The  signature  to  the  application 
should  be  the  culminating  act  of  a  series  of 
steps  logically  leading  to  it. 

Good  Closing,  therefore,  involves  effici- 
ency at  every  stage  of  the  sale.  A  perfect 
closer  may  greatly  curtail  his  opportunities 
by  weakness  in  the  Approach :  he  may  null- 
ify his  advantage  by  a  faulty  Canvass. 

Now  we  are  assuming  that  your  Canvass 
has  excited  genuine  Desire.  Your  task  is 
to  convert  that  sentiment  into  Resolve 

What  is  the  condition  of  your  Prospect's 
mind?  He  is  inclined  to  take  what  you 
are  offering  to  him.  Under  your  stimula- 
tion he  gave  his  Imagination  rein  until  it 
carried  him  to  Desire.  But  his  arrival  at 
that  point  brought  him  within  sight  of  De- 
cision and  Action.  The  realization — often 
sudden — that  he  is  at  the  end  of  the  path, 
checks  him  and  arouses  his  Caution.  De- 
sire is  still  there  but  its  influence  does  not 
operate  as  smoothly  as  before.  He  begins 
to  weigh  the  pros  and  cons. 

41 


His  inclination  is  to  go  forward,  just  as 
the  physical  tendency  of  the  stream  is  to 
flow  past  the  rocks  in  the  channel.  If  you 
should  attempt  to  accelerate  the  flow  of  the 
river  by  violent  pressure  on  the  water  from 
behind  the  result  would  be  to  break  the 
surface  into  waves  and  to  cause  an  over- 
flowing of  the  banks.  The  effective  way 
of  achieving  your  object  would  be  to  re- 
move the  obstructions  in  the  course  of  the 
stream.  So  with  your  Prospect.  If  at  this 
stage  you  try  to  rush  him,  you  will  confuse 
his  mind — cause  it  to  become  splashy  and 
create  mental  backwater.  You  must  remove 
the  obstacles  to  its  flow. 

Maintain  a  constant  and  even  pressure  but 
do  it  in  a  quiet,  earnest  manner.  Make  posi- 
tive and  terse  statements,  accentuated  by 
pauses.  Repeat  such  points  to  your  Can- 
vass as  you  observed  to  be  effective.  Keep 
in  step  with  your  man  by  speaking  delib- 
erately. And  don't  talk  too  much. 

Many  salesmen  ruin  their  cases  by  using 
the  methods  of  the  stockyards  drover,  with 
the  result  of  stampeding  their  Prospects. 
Don't  fall  into  the  error  of  thinking  that 
force  necessitates  physical  manifestation. 
Loud  and  rapid  speech,  gesticulations  and 
facial  contortions  are  indicative  of  weakness. 
They  are  apt  to  disturb  and  confuse  the 
Prospect. 

At  this  critical  point  of  the  sale  the  agent 
who  lacks  courage  and  confidence  is  in  dan- 
ger of  resorting  to  a  false  motive.  Nine 
times  in  ten  there  is  no  cause  for  com- 

42 


promise  but  his  own  cowardice.  The  man 
who  yields  to  temptation  of  this  sort  has 
the  spirit  of  an  auctioneer.  He  will  never 
make  a  first-class  salesman. 

Don't  offer  a  rebate,  nor  anything  else  but 
what  the  policy  contract  covers.  Don't  make 
any  unusual  conditions  nor  promise  any 
special  advantages.  Don't  make  doubt- 
ful settlements  nor  deceive  your  man  as  to 
the  obligation  he  is  incurring.  Make  a  clean 
sale  or  nothing.  Better  fail  in  an  honest 
endeavor  than  succeed  in  a  tricky  transac- 
tion. 

It  is  not  quite  correct  to  say  that  the 
development  of  Resolve  in  the  mind  of  your 
Prospect  is  the  end  of  your  task.  That  re- 
quires Action  for  its  completion — the  phy- 
"sical  response  to  the  mental  stimulus.  You 
must  obtain  the  signature,  but  there  will 
seldom  be  any  difficulty  about  that  if  real 
Resolve  has  been  created.  The  mere  re- 
quest, especially  if  accompanied  by  the  hand- 
ing of  a  pen,  will  almost  always  accomplish 
your  object. 

Bear  in  mind  that  many  a  man  will  allow 
another  to  "make  up  his  mind"  for  him — 
will,  indeed,  be  relieved  to  have  him  do  it. 
Frequently  a  close  is  in  such  state  that  the 
salesman  needs  only  to  make  a  decisive 
statement,  such  as :  "Very  well,  Mr.  Blank, 
then  we  will  close  this  deal."  On  the  other 
hand,  the  agent  who  waits  for  the  Prospect 
to  take  the  initiative  may  fail  to  secure  the 
application. 

43 


Now  you  have  closed  your  case,  but  you 
must  not  relax  your  vigilance  and  tact. 
Don't  break  the  connection  abruptly.  Your 
Prospect  has  been  excited  to  a  degree  of 
unusual  mental  activity.  There  will  be  a 
tendency  toward  reaction.  You  should  en- 
deavor to  counteract  this  tendency.  Make 
the  arrangement  for  medical  examination, 
tell  your  man  when  he  may  expect  the  pol- 
icy and  gradually  direct  his  mind  to  indif- 
ferent matters.  To  illustrate: 

"Very  well,  Mr.  Blank.  I'll  see  that  the 
doctor  is  here  promptly  at  two  o'clock.  He 
will  not  take  more  than  twenty  minutes  of 
your  time.  Let  me  see.  Today  is  Tuesday. 
It  takes  about  a  week  ordinarily.  You  see, 
there  is  quite  a  little  to  be  done  between 
the  examination  and  the  delivery  of  a  pol- 
icy, etc.,  etc." 

Your  object  is  to  help  your  Prospect's 
excitement  to  subdue  without  reaction — 
to  break  his  mental  fall,  so  to  speak,  so 
that,  when  you  depart,  his  thoughts  will 
easily  leave  the  subject  of  your  visit  and 
revert  to  his  business  affairs.  In  this  effort 
beware  of  getting  back  into  the  field  of 
your  Canvass.  Your  Prospect's  mind  has 
just  been  occupied  by  a  conflict  of  thought 
which  you  have  brought  to  the  desired  Con- 
clusion. It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world 
by  direct  suggestion  or  the  Association  of 
Ideas  to  revive  that  mental  disturbance  and 
throw  him  back  into  the  stage  of  Delibera- 
tion or  even  farther  back. 

The  best  protection  of  the  life  insurance 
agent  against  this  tendency  to  reaction  is 

44 


found  in  securing  a  settlement  as  an  im- 
mediate sequence  to  the  signing  of  the  ap- 
plication. This  is  the  proper  time  for  re- 
ceiving payment  and  your  Prospect  should 
be  disposed  to  make  it  at  this  time. 

If  you  will  remember  that  it  is  to  the 
applicant's  interest  to  give  you  a  check  with 
the  application  and  if  you  will  habituate 
yourself  to  the  idea  that  it  is  the  correct 
and  ordinary  thing  for  him  to  do,  you  will 
ask  for  it  in  an  expectant  and  matter-of- 
fact  manner  which  may  be  depended  upon 
to  gain  his  assent  almost  invariably. 


45 


EIGHT 

SUGGESTION  AND  AUTO-SUGGESTION 


A  Suggestion  may  be  described  as  an  idea 
that  is  imparted  to  the  mind  in  an  indirect 
way,  in  contradistinction  to  one  that  is  cre- 
ated by  reasoning  or  demonstration.  This 
definition  is  not  exhaustive,  nor  precisely 
correct,  but  it  will  serve  very  well  for  a 
practical  basis  of  the  consideration  of  our 
subject. 

It  is  evident  that  we  receive  our  mental  im- 
pressions from  thousands  of  suggestive 
sources,  and  vastly  more  of  them  in  that 
manner  than  through  direct  or  definite  agen- 
cies. Suggestions  are  conveyed  by  hint,  in- 
timation, insinuation ;  by  gesture,  look  and 
attitude.  They  are  excited  by  partial  state- 
ment, incidental  allusion,  illustration  and 
question.  They  are  derived  from  all  kinds 
of  conditions  and  things.  Inferences  are  gen- 
erally in  the  nature  of  suggestions,  rather 
than  positive  deductions.  Suggestions  are 
spontaneously  set  up  by  the  Association  of 
Ideas. 

In  psychology,  Suggestion  is  sometimes 
held  to  include  mental  impressions  which 
are  made  by  authoritative  statement  or  repe- 
tition, and  not  supported  by  logic  or  proof. 
This  form  of  Suggestion  is  widely  employed 
by  the  writers  of  advertisements,  by  preach- 

46 


ers,  by  salesmen  and  others  whose  pur- 
pose is  to  induce  the  acceptance  of  propo- 
sitions which  would  be  either  impossible  or 
difficult  of  demonstration. 

At  almost  every  moment  of  the  day  we 
are  receiving  and  making  mental  impressions 
by  suggestive  processes.  When  we  think 
about  the  matter  we  are  forced  to  the  some- 
what humiliating  conclusion  that  most  of 
our  actions  and  thoughts  have  their  origin 
in  such  uncertain  influences. 

The  power  of  Suggestion  for  good  or  evil 
is  extremely  great  because  its  application  is 
practically  limitless,  and  because  we  are  all 
highly  susceptible  to  its  effects.  Let  us  take 
two  contrasting  examples.  You  attend  a 
strange  place  of  worship  and  after  awhile 
find  yourself  imbued  with  some  of  the  new 
doctrines,  although  they  conflict  with  your 
former  belief.  You  repeatedly  read  the  cir- 
cular of  some  patent  nostrum  and  presently 
you  display  some  of  the  symptoms  of  disease 
described  in  it,  although  you  were  pre- 
viously perfectly  healthy. 

Certain  medicines,  containing  nothing 
more  powerful  than  gentian  or  sugar,  and 
certain  appliances,  such  as  electric  bells  and 
metallic  finger  rings,  are  undoubtedly  ef- 
fective in  curing  disease.  Two  facts  are  ab- 
solutely established  in  these  cases, — first, 
that  the  medium  has  no  inherent  therapeu- 
tic quality,  and,  second,  that  it  has  effected 
true  cures. 

Where  are  we  to  find  the  solution  to  this 
paradox?  In  Suggestion,  to  be  sure. 

47 


Now,  Suggestion  and  Auto-Suggestion  dif- 
fer only  in  source  of  origin.  In  principle  and 
operation  they  are  alike.  By  insistance  that 
you  are  looking  ill,  I  can  make  you  look  so. 
You  can  produce  the  same  result  by  similar 
thought  originating  in  your  own  mind. 

If  I  should  intimate  to  you  daily  for  a 
month  that  I  believe  you  to  be  a  strong 
"closer,"  you  would  soon  begin  to  share  my 
belief  and — which  is  of  practical  account — 
your  efficiency  in  "closing"  would  actually 
increase.  But  you  could  produce  precisely 
the  same  effect  by  Auto-Suggestion. 

Now,  let  me  give  you  another  thought. 
The  effect  of  this  Suggestion  by  me  or  by 
yourself  would  not  be  limited  to  the  moment 
each  day  when  the  mind  might  be  directed 
consciously  to  the  matter,  but  it  would  be 
working  and  growing  constantly.  This,  be- 
cause when  a  seed  has  been  planted  in  the 
subconscious  mind  theprocessofgermination 
and  growth  will  go  on  without  any  realiza- 
tion on  your  part,  except  in  so  far  as  you 
infer  it  from  manifest  effect.  The  plant  will 
need  occasional  tending,  just  as  the  farmer's 
corn  does,  but  the  development  will  pro- 
ceed in  one  case  as  in  the  other  whilst  no 
attention  is  being  paid  to  it. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  explain  this  phe- 
nomenon. There  are  numerous  reliable 
books  available  to  you  should  you  desire  to 
know  the  why  and  the  how  of  the  matter. 
My  design  is  to  draw  your  attention  to  the 
Fact  and  to  impress  upon  you  the  tremen- 
dous value  of  Suggestion  and  Auto-Sugges- 

48 


tion  as  practical  agencies  which  you  may 
employ  scientifically  in  your  work  and  in 
the  development  of  your  Efficiency.  The 
existence  of  Suggestion  and  the  Subcon- 
scious Mind  are  beyond  dispute.  You  need 
not  go  beyond  yourself  for  evidence  of  them 
and  the  phenomena  connected  with  them. 

At  almost  every  moment  of  the  day  we 
are  subjected  to  Suggestion  or  exerting  it 
upon  others,  but  for  the  most  in  a  haphazard 
or  accidental  manner.  If  we  should  learn  the 
principles  governing  this  agency  and  adopt 
methods  of  intelligent  application,  we  would 
have  a  very  powerful  force  at  our  command 
for  the  promotion  of  our  business. 

Advertising,  which  is  selling  by  wireless, 
so  to  speak,  is  based  on  identically  the  same 
principles  as  "direct  contact"  salesmanship. 
A  study  of  first-class  advertising,  such  as 
may  be  found  in  the  leading  magazines,  will 
afford  us  many  illustrations  of  the  practical 
application  of  the  principles  of  Suggestion. 
We  may  gain  other  valuable  lessons  from  the 
same  source,  and  among  them  the  import- 
ant practice  of  getting  on  the  Prospect's  side 
of  the  fence  and  examining  the  situation 
from  his  point  of  view. 

In  the  course  of  the  canvass  the  Life  In- 
surance agent  frequently  resorts  to  Sugges- 
tion. Experience  has  taught  him  that  cer- 
tain methods  are  likely  to  produce  certain 
results,  but  he  has  no  clear  conception  of  the 
principles  nor  the  mental  processes  involved. 
If  he  had,  his  practices  might  be  improved 
by  a  greater  degree  of  finesse  and  variety. 

49 


The  salesman  names  policyholders  to  a 
Prospect  in  the  hope  of  stimulating  him 
through  the  suggestion  of  imitation.  He 
habitually  makes  his  technical  statements 
with  an  air  of  assurance,  instinctively  aim- 
ing to  create  an  impression  by  the  sugges- 
tion of  authority.  He  may  not  fully  appre- 
ciate the  force  of  suggestion  by  repetition, 
but  he  knows  that  by  conveying  the  same 
thought  to  a  Prospect's  mind  a  sufficient 
number  of  times  it  may  be  made  to  lodge 
there.  In  similar  manner  he  is  constantly 
playing  upon  the  suggestion  of  habit  without 
conscious  application  of  the  principle  of  the 
human  tendency  to  move  along  the  lines  of 
least  resistance. 

But  you  say :  "If  the  salesman  is  already 
practicing  these  methods  is  it  of  consequence 
whether  he  is  moved  by  experience  or  by  a 
knowledge  of  principles?"  The  reply  is:  "No 
matter  how  skilled  the  unscientific  salesman 
may  be,  his  efficiency  must  be  greatly  in- 
creased by  an  understanding  of  the  'how  and 
why'  of  his  processes/' 

The  subtler  forms  of  Suggestion  are  sel- 
dom employed  extensively,  except  by  sales- 
men who  have  an  intelligent  grasp  of  the 
principles  involved.  But  these  delicate 
methods  of  making  mental  impressions  are 
the  most  effective  and  in  many  difficult  sit- 
uations the  only  means  to  the  end. 

Frequently  men — and  especially  those  of 
the  positive  types — may  be  more  readily  in- 
fluenced by  indirect  Suggestion  than  by  ar- 
gument. Indeed,  it  sometimes  happens  that 
a  man  unconsciously  acts  under  the  former 

50 


influence  with  the  idea  that  his  action  is 
entirely  independent,  when  he  would  op- 
pose an  overt  suggestion  or  request  that  he 
should  do  the  thing  in  question. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  urge  upon  you  the 
great  advantage  of  employing  Auto-Sugges- 
tion as  an  agency  for  self-improvement.  I 
must  restrict  myself  to  a  few  brief  hints, 
but  the  matter  is  one  which  will  repay  your 
fullest  consideration  of  it.  Here  you  have 
a  medium  that  is  limitless  in  its  scope  and 
effect,  and  one  that  may  be  made  the  means 
of  developing  in  you  the  utmost  Efficiency. 
Indeed,  it  is  an  essential  factor.  Your  per- 
sonality and  your  business  capacity  are 
largely  the  effect  of  Suggestions  and  influ- 
ences from  without,  but  in  almost  equal  de- 
gree are  they  the  outcome  of  self-impression 
and  self-influence.  By  deliberate  and  sys- 
tematic Auto-Suggestion  you  may  secure 
practically  any  results  you  please  in  these 
directions. 

One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  a 
sales  operation  is  the  Mental  Attitude  of  the 
salesman.  This  may  be  regulated  to  any 
extent  by  Auto-Suggestion.  Constantly  re- 
mind yourself  that  you  are  confident,  well- 
poised  and  determined.  Begin  each  day's 
work  by  re-impressing  yourself  with  the 
ideas  of  the  superiority  of  your  Company, 
the  excellence  of  its  contracts,  the  benevo- 
lent character  of  your  business,  and  so  forth. 
Read  the  following  "credo"  every  morning. 
It  will  work  as  effectively  as  did  the  ancient 
incantations,  through  the  action  of  the  same 
cause — Auto-Suggestion. 

51 


MY  STIMULUS 


There  is  no  better  Company  than  mine. 

I  benefit  every  man  whom  I  insure  in  it. 

I  am  an  efficient  and  well-posted  sales- 
man. 

I  am  fair  in  dealing  with  Company, 
client  and  manager. 

I  treat  my  competitor  as  I  would  have 
him  treat  me. 

I  respect  myself  and  challenge  the  re- 
spect of  others. 

Mine  is  an  honorable  and  profitable  bus- 
iness. 

It  is  my  life  work,  and  I  shall  succeed 
in  it. 

By  means  of  Auto-Suggestion  you  may 
make  your  habitual  Mental  Attitude  what 
you  will.  Think  of  yourself  as  energetic  and 
forceful.  Impersonate  the  part.  Regulate 
your  speech  to  correspond  with  it.  Do  this 
for  a  short  time  and  you  will  find  the  Mood 
of  masterly  energy  growing  upon  you.  And 
it  will  continue  to  grow  with  your  persistent 
effort  until  it  shall  ultimately  become  a  per- 
manent characteristic. 

IT  IS  WITHIN  THE  POWER  OF  ANY 
MAN  TO  COMPLETELY  TRANSFORM 
HIMSELF  AND  TO  REFORM  HIS 
CHARACTER  ON  ANY  LINES  WHICH 
HE  MAY  DESIRE. 

52 


EFFICIENCY 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS 
IN  LIFE  INSURANCE 
SALESMANSHIP 


BY 

FORBES  LINDSAY 

Associate  Manager  of  the  Home  Office  Agency 

The  Pacific  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 

of  California 


PRICE 

Flexible  Leather $1.00 

Stiff  Paper .75 

To  be  obtained  from  Insurance  Journals  and  from  Forbes 
Lindsay,  Pacific  Mutual  Bldg.,    Los  Angeles,  California 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   ESSENTIAL  ATTITUDE. 

Self  Assurance — Honest  Dealing — Earnest  Attitude — Preparation — 
Scientific  Salesmanship. 

CHAPTER  II. 

ELEMENTS  OF  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

Participating  and  Non-participating  Insurance — Forms  of  Life  In- 
surance— The  Premium  and  its  Constituent  Parts — Methods  of 
Using  Dividends. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SECURING  AND  APPROACHING  PROSPECTS. 
Preparation   for  the  Approach — Meeting  the  Prospect — Overcoming 
Obstacles  to  Interviews. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PRESENTING  THE  POLICY. 

Divisions  of  the  Policy  Statement — Logical  Sequence  in  Presenta- 
tion— Discriminating  in  Selection  of  Forms — Motives  that  Move 
Men  to  Insure. 

CHAPTER  V. 
PREPARING  THE  CANVASS. 

Scientific  Method  of  Preparation — Mode  of  Setting  Forth  Data — 
Specimen  Illustration  of  Monthly  Income  Proposition — Memo- 
randa of  Arguments — Verbatim  Specimen  Canvass — Explanation 
of  the  Design  and  Purposes  of  the  Method. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CLOSING. 

Essentials    to    Success    in    Closing — Keeping    Control    of   the    Inter- 
view— Closing     at     the     Earliest     Opportunity — The     Consecutive 
.     Stages   of  the   Closing   Effort — Methods   of   Influencing  the   Pros- 
pect. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

STANDARD  FORMS  OF  INSURANCE. 

Term  Insurance — Life  Policies — The  Monthly  Income  Policy — The 
Endowment  Policy — Explanations  of  Various  Forms  and  Illus- 
trations of  Peculiar  Advantages. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

COMMERCIAL  LIFE  INSURANCE. 

Purpose  of  Business  Insurance — Business  Insurance  for  the  Corp- 
oration— Business  Insurance  for  the  Firm — Joint  Insurance  for 
Commercial  Purposes — Specializing  in  Commercial  Life  Insurance. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
MATERIAL  AID  TO   EFFICIENCY. 

The  Use  and  Abuse  of  Illustrations  and  Printed  Matter  in  General 
— The  Advantage  of  Making  Statements  in  Percentages — Prospect 
Cards  and  other  Memoranda — A  Valuable  Time-keeper  and  Check 
on  Results — Systematic  Record  Card — A  Method  for  Detecting 
Weakness  and  Strong  Points — The  Detective  Card. 

CHAPTER  X. 

GENERAL   SUGGESTIONS. 

Systematic  Work — Securing  Cash  with  Application — The  Psycho- 
logical Moment — Extra  Issues — Making  it  Easy  for  the  Prospect 
— Cultivating  Policyholders — Warning  Against  Underestimating 
the  Prospect. 


WHAT  PROMINENT  INSURANCE  MEN  THINK 
OF  "EFFICIENCY." 

"It  strikes  me  as  one  of  the  most  helpful  works  of 
the  kind  for  the  live  agent  that  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is 
an  aid  alike  to  the  'man  who  knows*  and  the  fellow  who 
'doesn't  know/  It  is  especially  strong  in  its  treatment 
of  that  all-important  part  of  the  business — salesman- 
ship." 

J.  C  MATCHITT,  Editor  and  Manager, 

"Northwest  Insurance," 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 

"It  is  a  strong  document,  written  along  right  lines 
and  should  be  a  great  selling  help  in  the  hands  of  an 
agency  force." 

MARSTON  &  SMALLEY,  General  Agents, 

New  England  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

"I  am  in  receipt  of  your  most  valuable  booklet,  'Effi- 
ciency/ and  I  am  pleased  to  say  I  have  re-read  the  book 
the  second  time.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  any 
literature  on  insurance,  and  can  truthfully  say  your 
'Efficiency*  has  more  useful  information,  both  for  the 
beginner  and  the  'Old  Field  Man/  than  anything  I  have 
ever  read." 

IRA   E.   QUIMBY, 
New  York  Life  Insurance  Co., 

Victoria,  B.  C. 

"I  believe  your  booklet  to  be  the  best  publication  of 
its  kind  which  has  come  under  my  observation." 
A.  N.  DES  CHAMPS,  Manager, 

Aetna  Life  Insurance  Co., 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 

"Your  book,  'Efficiency/  is  the  first  and  only  real 
practical  treatise  on  Life  Insurance  Salesmanship  that 
has  ever  been  brought  to  my  attention.  Brevity  is  an 
essential  element  in  efficiency.  You  have  boiled  down 
what  others  have  required  volumes  to  say." 

R.  M.  MALPAS,  Agency  Manager, 
American  National  Insurance  Co., 

Galveston,  Texas. 

"It  is  my  opinion  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  profit- 
able and  interesting  treatises  ever  published  in  connec- 
tion with  insurance  work.  I  am  certain  that  I  shall  be 
more  efficient  than  I  was  in  the  past  as  a  result  of  a 
careful  study  of  your  valuable  book." 

M.  MESSER,  Manager  Hoboken  District, 

Colonial  Life  Ins.  Co.  of  America, 
Hoboken,  N.  J. 


"The  plans  of  soliciting  which  you  have  outlined 
should  be  of  tremendous  value  to  new  agents  in  analyz- 
ing their  work.  Chapter  I  is  a  new  pen  picture  of  the 
ideal  Life  Insurance  Salesman." 

W.  F.  McCAUGHEY,  General  Agent, 
Northwestern  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 
Racine,  Wis. 

"It  is  all  good,  and  any  agent,  young  or  old,  experi- 
enced or  inexperienced,  cannot  fail  to  find  many  helpful 
hints,  and  if  he  will  then  proceed  to  use  his  'self-starter' 
and  do  some  real  thinking  he  should  be  able  to  make 
money  from  your  information." 

CHARLES  M.  IDE,  Special  Agent, 
New  England  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 
Boston,  Mass. 

"I  think  your  little  book  is  of  the  greatest  value,  not 
only  to  beginners,  but  to  men  who  have  had  experience 
on  the  'firing  line/  " 

WILLIAM  H.  RYAN,  General  Agent, 

The  Penn  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Brooklyn,  N  .Y. 

"I  have  read  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  your  book- 
let 'Efficiency*  and  have  passed  it  around  our  office, 
where  nothing  but  favorable  comments  have  been  made 
upon  it.  It  is  well  gotten  up,  both  from  the  standpoint 
of  arrangement  and  material,  and  I  congratulate  you 
upon  your  success  in  getting  out  such  a  book." 

EDWARD  A.  WOODS,  Manager, 
The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society, 

Pittsburg,  Pa. 

"I  found  it  very  interesting  and  helpful;  and,  frankly, 
I  found  nothing  to  criticize  therein.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  not  only  intelligently  compiled,  from  the  lay  stand- 
point, but  is  practical  from  the  particular  standpoint  of 
securing  the  application." 

C.  J.  EDWARDS,  Manager, 
The    Equitable   Life   Assurance    Society, 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

"I  think  it  is  one  of  the  finest  little  books  I  have  ever 
read  on  insurance." 

GEORGE  M.  SPIEGEL,  General  Agent, 

Pacific  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co., 
Indianapolis,  Ind. 


"The  valuable  little  dynamo,  'Efficiency/  has  been 
received.  I  have  read  your  book  with  interest  and 
much  profit. 

"The  book  is  an  authority  which  drives  a  nail  home 
so  thoroughly  it  sticks.  This  treatise  will  make  a  man 
think,  and  then  it  tersely  and  cleverly  unfolds  sugges- 
tions on  practical  business  methods  that  are  invaluable 
to  the  fellow  who  believes  in  the  survival  of  the  fittest." 

W.  C.  HUTCHINS,  General  Agent, 

Bankers  Life  Company, 
Des  Moines,  la. 

"I  have  before  me  your  favor  of  the  5th  inst.,  and 
your  Company  indeed  did  me  an  honor  when  they  sent 
me  your  booklet  on  'Efficiency/  I  consider  it  tiptop  in 
every  way,  and  I  do  not  recall  having  mentally  made 
any  notes  which  would  improve  it.  I  think  it  excellent 
just  as  it  is." 

R.  O.  MILES,  General  Agent, 
The  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 

"I  believe  that  it  is  the  best  thing  ever  published  for 
life  insurance  agents.  Instead  of  having  spread-eagle 
stuff  covering  generalities,  as  the  expression  goes,  it 
gets  down  to  cases  and  gives  something  definite  that 
the  agent  can  say." 

C.  D.  RODMAN,  General  Agent, 
The  Northwestern  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Louisville,  Ky. 

"I  will  say  for  this  booklet  that  it  is  without  question 
or  doubt  and  without  exception,  the  best  work  on 
life  insurance  salesmanship,  or  any  other  kind  of  sales- 
manship, that  it  has  ever  been  my  pleasure  to  read." 

ROBERT  M.  GRAY,  Agent, 
First  Nat'l.  Life  and  Ace.   Ins.  Co., 

Hankinson,  N.  D. 

"I  have  read  this  little  book  with  great  pleasure,  and 
want  to  assure  you  that  I  have  gained  much  valuable 
information  from  the  same.  I  do  not  know  that  I  could 
offer  any  suggestions  at  all  for  its  improvement,  as  it 
seems  to  me  that  you  have  covered  the  ground  thor- 
oughly." 

E.  G.  SIMMONS,  Vice-President, 
Pan-American  Life  Insurance  Co., 

New  Orleans,  La. 


"We  have  received  the  booklet  entitled  'Efficiency' 
and  wish  to  say  thai  we  have  never  seen  anything  which 
looked  to  us  half  as  good." 

PARKER  &  HINKLEY,  General  Agents, 

New  England  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

"I  have  read  the  papers  very  carefully,  and  wish  to 
congratulate  you  most  sincerely  upon  the  exhaustive 
handling  you  have  given  the  subject.  You  write  like  an 
artist.  What  you  say  is  effective  and  beautiful.  All  my 
criticism  may  be  bunched  in  the  one  word,  'splendid.' " 

CHARLES  W.  PICKELL,  Manager, 
Massachusetts  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

"I  want  to  say  that  after  reading  the  booklet  care- 
fully I  unhesitatingly  pronounce  it  as  a  very  valuable 
one,  indeed.  I  am  using  some  parts  of  it  in  the  man- 
agement of  my  own  office,  and  shall  employ  more  of 
the  ideas  it  contains  in  time  to  come." 

A.  F.  SOMMER,  Superintendent, 

Metropolitan  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

"Your  book  seems  to  me  to  be  the  most  direct  trail  to 
successful  and  constructive  life  insurance  salesmanship. 
*  *  I  look  upon  chapters  3,  4,  5  and  6  as  the  guid- 
ing stars  to  my  future  success  in  the  selling  of  life 
insurance,  and  take  this  opportunity  to  tell  you  I  am 
deeply  grateful  to  you  and  your  Company  for  sending 
the  book  to  our  office." 

JOHN  J.  O'NEILL, 
The  Penn  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

"Permit  me  to  say  that  the  little  booklet  entitled 
'Efficiency'  is  the  very  best  of  its  kind  it  has  been  my 
privilege  to  read,  and  is  equally  useful  to  experienced  as 
well  as  inexperienced  life  insurance  men,  since  it  covers 
practically  every  phase  of  the  business." 

J.  J.  TYNDALL,  District  Manager, 
The  Union  Central  Life  Ins.  Co., 
El  Paso,  Texas. 

"I  consider  it  the  very  best  thing  I  have  ever  seen, 
and  all  my  agents  endorse  this  statement." 

J.  W.  DICKSON,  General  Agent, 
The  Pacific  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Anderson,  S.  C. 


"I  have  on  hand  for  acknowledgment  your  valuable 
booklet  'Efficiency/  and  have  no  hesitation  in  express- 
ing my  enthusiastic  approval  of  the  very  clever  and  in- 
telligent way  you  have  handled  your  subject.  Your  work 
is  an  acquisition  that  should  appeal  strongly  to  all  in- 
surance men,  as  it  is  brimful  with  the  best  insurance 
literature  that  I  have  seen  anywhere  for  the  practical 
purpose  of  training  agents,  therefore  the  good  it  will  do 
is  inconceivable." 

J.  B.  MORRISETTE,  President, 
The  Life  Underwriters*  Assn.  of  Canada, 

Quebec,   Que. 

"I  am  delighted  with  the  little  book  entitled  'Effi- 
ciency/ I  have  found  it  exceedingly  suggestive,  and 
every  now  and  then  in  its  pages  I  find  some  new  view- 
point which  is  exceedingly  helpful.  I  want  to  thank  you 
most  heartily  for  this  work  which  you  have  done  for 
the  field  men." 

H.  EVERETT  FARNHAM,  General  Agent, 

The  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Saint  Joseph,  Mo. 

"I  want  you  to  know  how  much  I  enjoyed  'Efficiency/ 
Between  its  covers  can  be  found  in  concrete  form  so 
many  things  tersely  put  that  are  usually  the  subject  of 
voluminous  writing." 

WM.  H.  KINGSLEY,  Second  'Vice-Pres., 
The  Penn  Mutual  Life  Ins.  Co., 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

"It  is  a  splendid  work,  and  I  think  I  have  never  read 
a  book  explaining  in  such  clear,  simple  language  the 
several  subjects  which  it  treats.  *  *  *  There  are 
valuable  suggestions  all  through  the  work  for  the  ex- 
perienced solicitor  as  well  as  the  beginner." 

E.  M.  FRANCE,  General  Agent, 
State  Mutual  Life  Assurance  Co., 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL    FINE    OF    25     CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


APR    I7193b 
SEP    7  1935 


240cf51LU 

t6Dec'52SS 
DEC  18 1952  LU 

REC'tFl 
APR    1-1959 


RECTD  LD 

9 '65 -6PM 


LD  21-50m-l,'33 


r 


Y-A  01755 


336758 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


